Weekly Thread April 2 - 8 - Page 5

[dara00]

I remember last time they made me wear the hospital gown. they wanted me to take off my bra but I didn't want to and I was glad later because there was no way I would have been able to get one one over all the iv's and wires and crap and I needed it for nursing!

[Jilian]

I like the mesh panties too! I actually took some from the hospital when I was there a few mos ago with PTL :

[willoLevin]

I remember that our Bradley childbirth teacher suggested that everyone who was birthing in a hospital snag a handful of those panties to bring home. I think her opinion was that they were disposable (and free) and it would save laundry, but I remember them being at least as comfy as normal undies, and probably more so, because they were so stretchy.

And, by the way, when I folded and put away the baby clothes I washed yesterday, I totally cuddled and re-folded them a few times.

--willo

[mataji4]

On clothes...
I tried to wear nursing clothes and pajamas, and just hated all of it!! I am incredibly leaky, and felt with those nursing tanks that i just leaked through the openings and onto the front of the tank. I just wore big sporty kind of shirt bras around the house, like the ones from Blue Canoe, and wore nursing pads too. I had some nursing shirts and dresses, and felt like all the hassle and time it took to find the hole, get my huge boob out of the bra and out of the hole, was just totally silly. It was much easier to just pull a regular shirt or tank up or down. The nursing gown drove me nuts!! I remember trying to find the hole and get my boob out of it, and it never lined up, like it was twisted around from flipping sides and sleeping. I still have it because I bought it as my pretty nursing nightie, but I literally wore it a few times with my first baby and not since!!!!!! I'm a little nostalgic, I guess.

Anyway, my vote is that nursing clothes are expensive and over-rated. All your clothes are going to be milk stained anyway! I'm just going to get some regular loose tanks and wear them with bras.

[herbmama3-7]

Originally Posted by mataji4

On clothes...

Anyway, my vote is that nursing clothes are expensive and over-rated. All your clothes are going to be milk stained anyway! I'm just going to get some regular loose tanks and wear them with bras.

: I agree, infact I was just given a bunch of really nice nursing clothes and I couldn't mentally get over the fact that there was this big hole at my boob that I decided to consign them. But everyone is comfortable in there own way.

[willoLevin]

Originally Posted by mataji4

On clothes...
I tried to wear nursing clothes and pajamas, and just hated all of it!! ...
Anyway, my vote is that nursing clothes are expensive and over-rated. All your clothes are going to be milk stained anyway! I'm just going to get some regular loose tanks and wear them with bras.

Yet another example of "Try it and see what works for you!"

1) I never leaked. I think once in all my 2+ years of nursing did I ever drip at all, and that was right after a warm shower my first week post-partum. I didn't stain a single item of clothing--not even a nursing bra--with milk.

2) When I had to take my son out for an extended time (doctor visits in the city, etc.), I could NOT manage to nurse with any feeling of comfort without a nursing top.

Now, I only had a few dedicated nursing tops, because, for HOME use, they weren't any more useful to me. But, for discrete public nursing, they were VITAL to me.

So, yet again, I think most first-timers should probably try one or two items to see how they work for her. God bless the internet for allowing us to order what we want more of online when our babies are a few days old!

Since I had low milk supply issues, I will also repeat here that, for women in such a predicament, it is strongly recommended to avoid the kind of bra/top that one pulls aside (in favor of "real" nursing bras) because the extra pressure on the breast can inhibit the milk flow.

--willo

[saratchka]

I just have to chime in on the clothes!

I delivered in the hospital and really didn't think much about what to wear. I labored in a big maternity tee shirt, a nursing bra, and a pair of yoga pants. I got to the hospital between 8 and 9 cm, so they didn't even really have time to offer me a gown. I probably would have refused anyhow. I just took off the pants and my undies and pushed the baby out. It worked nicely for me, as by that time I really couldn't have cared less about modesty, etc. I was ready to push, and pushing was literally the only thing I could focus on. Afterward I was able to just sit on all the absorbent padding with a sheet up to my waist - easy and comfy.

This time I'm delivering at home, but expect to be wearing much the same thing. Unless I use the birthing tub, in which case I'll probably ditch the tee shirt...

As for nursing wear, I've actually found some of it very useful. As Willo said, it's not really necessary when you're at home, but for me it was very necessary for public nursing. I never seemed to be able to cover myself well enough to feel comfortable in regular clothes unless they were *way* too big. I felt unattractive enough without wearing oversized clothing to boot!

In the very early weeks it was all frustrating. But that was mainly because of extreme engorgement and inexperience. I didn't just leak, I was a veritable fountain at all times. Even the lansinoh disposable pads didn't hold me for more than an hour at a time. By 5 weeks or so I had slowed to a constant drip, which could be managed with cloth pads if I changed them every 45 minutes or so. At that point I'd also found some comfortable nursing positions that worked for us and was able to select nursingwear that suited both my physique and nursing needs.

Nursing jammies are something of a luxury, unless you want to sleep without a bra. Leaky as I was, I needed something tight enough to hold my nursing pads in place, and that meant sleeping in my nursing bras or wearing nursing pajamas. Happily, I had some fairly comfy nursing bras, so I just slept in them most of the time. The bravado bras were fantastic for that. For nursing jammies, unless you will be nurisng in your pajamas in public, I prefer a tight cris-cross top that you just pull aside to expose your whole breast. It's so much easier that way! The majamas pj's are like that. (Though they're shaped correctly to hold the nursing pads in place, they're not actually tight enough to provide support like a bra, so I don't think they inhibit milk production.) I only have one pair, and I actually didn't buy them until I got pregnant this time around, but they are fantastic! I know they cost an arm and a leg, but I'm even thinking about getting a second pair so I can wear them all the time with this new babe.

I found that basically none of the double layered tee shirts worked for me. The under layer never seemed to stay tucked, and the openings were never in the right place. The two styles that work best for me are the tanks with the clips on the straps (like glamourmom) and those with a double layer only at the top (like majamas) both of which have an underlayer with a smaller opening (maybe 2.5" diameter) which stays positioned around your nipple the whole time you're wearing the garment. I wear the tanks with nursing pads and no bra. The majamas types I wear with a nursing bra underneath as they don't provide much if any support.

[mataji4]

I totally agree, Willo, that we're all so different in nursing as in pregnancy! It's neat for first time moms to get to hear all the different perspectives, and mine is just one. I just didn't want them to feel like they really needed to get a wardrobe of nursing clothes on top of prepping for the baby, i.e. take the worry level down!

I forgot to mention before***a friend used these little silicone things (for lack of a better word) that covered just her nipple and areola really. They stick to your skin, sort of, and stay in place. She found them to be excellent for stopping leaking, and never experienced any kind of problems with them. It made it so she could wear regular tanks with built-in bras without needing nursing pads (which can be really funky looking depending on what you're wearing.). Anyway, I don't think they'd be very effective/useful in that first period where my milk is just EVERYWHERE, but after that I'm going to give them a try- I saw them at a lingerie store for $6 for the pair.

[willoLevin]

Ah, I think you mean "LilyPadz", mataji4. Those are silicone and apply gentle pressure to the nipple. I've thought about trying them, not so much for leaking, but just to keep everything off my nipples when they are (likely to be) very sore in the beginning.

PP who said the style of nursing top will likely make a difference for a new mom is right. I had a few tops I NEVER wore, and one that I wore almost every time I went to town. It was styled like a button down shirt (but had snaps instead of buttons) and had snap-down flaps over the large, vertical nursing openings. (The flaps snapped almost under my arms, so they never blew open in the wind or anything if a flaky mommy forgot to re-snap them. ) The flaps also worked like tiny blankets to hide the actual baby-to-boob connection point--something that helped me feel comfortable nursing in public.

So that was my FAVORITE nursing shirt.

I hope to get a couple of those nursing tanks this time, but Glamour Mom did *NOT* fit a busty (36D/DD pre-pg, up to 38F nursing!) former size 12 mom like me. I found a new type this time that I'm REALLY hoping works:
http://www.birthandbabyorders.com/index.php?p=1214

--willo

[WhiteWax]

I just have to chime in and say thhat when i was nursing DD I leaked everywhere at night and found it very helpful to just stick a folded hanky or cloth diaper in my bra at night... I would also just keep the straps down at night for easy access. I saved my nursing pads for when I was going out.

just my two cents on the leaking bit of the conversation.

also... they have some VERY pretty nursing bras at www.PassionSpice.com... but they are quiet pricey.

[wombatclay]

I leaked until...ummmm...a couple months into this pregnancy actually, so that's what? A year and a half!

No leaking and no colostrum stains before the birth, then my milk came in a few days later and Oh My Gods! For the first month or two I needed to press a cloth dipe over my "open" nipple while nursing. And it would be soaked by the time DD was ready to switch from one breast to the other. If I didn't cover the nipple I would literally SHOOT milk across the room during letdown! It was crazy.

After the first month or so I leaked a lot less, but for the first 8-9 months I had to wear nursing pads (the super absorbant disposable kind and even then they were doubled up and changed every couple hours) 24/7. Then my period came back and I only leaked during letdown or if I missed a regular nursing or pumping session. I was thrilled. Honestly despite all the pain and problems nursing dd during this pregnancy the fact that I'm not leaking makes it all worthwhile!

My personal tricks...cloth diaper or "urp cloth" held tight over my breast while nursing to catch leaks. Always covering the mattress with a waterproof pad or absorbant pad to catch nighttime leaks. Gerber brand nursing pads (the super thin ones) are good for not leaving a huge "line"...the Lansinoh brand is actually more absorbant but the "perky nipple" design is horrid through clothes and I'm forgetting the name but there's another brand that seriously looks like a starfish crawled into your bra.

For me nursing tops were never worth it. I wore my maternity tank tops with the built in shelf bra (the spaghetti strap style from Target) and just pulled the side down when I wanted to nurse. I just don't like the look/feel or those "bullseye" breast cut-outs found in many nursing bras and tanks. I also seemed to settle into an odd size...tops that fit well around my breasts were too large over my shoulders. Or the breasts would be fine but the tummy area really baggy. So the maternity top + a cardigan or other shell worked well for coverage and a work appropriate look that was easy to nurse in. I also slept in those tops since the shelf bra could be easily stuffed with prefolds!

Oh, and I was one of those lucky mamas who had the postpartum sweats/chills...for the first week or so I wake up to nurse but also because I was drenched in sweat and either too hot or waaaaay too cold. It's apparently not that uncommon. So I had a bunch of old/oversized flannel button down shirts that I'd keep next to the bed. I'd wake up, nurse dd, pull on a new (dry!) flannel shirt and tank top, stuff a dry dipe into the shelf bra, and roll over again. It sounds complicated, but it wasn't that bad. And I wish someone had been a little more up front about the night sweats/chills. The books mentioned it, but they didn't really talk about just how wet you can get during one of these mama moments!

DD and I are still nursing and I'm looking forward to tandem nursing when Roro arrives, but...well...maybe this time I wont leak like niagra falls?

[Jilian]

I was a leaker too, well leak is an understatement. It looked more like a firehose spraying. I used nursing pads forever. I REALLY needed them in the beginning and would often soak through them and have to change them. Then I continued to wear them out of habit after the first 3 mos. I didn't leak as much after 3 mos unless DS was late for a feeding. The gerber nursing pads I liked best are no longer made They switched over to those ultra-thin around the time DS weaned and those show up through your shirts because they are so flat. I prefer the contoured pads.

I also had the night sweats for the first week or so. I would wake up soaked with sweat and breastmilk. I started sleeping on one of those protective mattress pads made for cribs. Then after a while I just put it beneath my bed sheet because DS was in the bed with us. Definately protect your mattress if you're gonna be cosleeping. I can't tell you how many times DS's diaper leaked or he spit up or breastmilk sprayed on our bed. Having that mattress pad really saved our mattress.